adopted — yeas 30, nays 18. Then the words, " to be removable from office by the President of the United States," were, on motion of Mr. Benson, stricken out, by a vote of 31 to 19. By this change in the phraseology of the bill an express grant of power was avoided; and the statute was made to bear upon its face an express recognition by Congress of the President's power of re moval under the Constitution. The question also arose in the Senate; and the action of the House was concurred in by the casting vote of the Vice-President. In this manner a construction was given to the Constitution which was observed as valid and binding, until the passage of the act of March 2, 1867, commonly known as "the tenure of office act," to which reference will soon be made. During the administration of President Jackson, the question arose fre quently in Congress, and was discussed with great learning and ability; and although this action of the First Congress was severely criticised by several of the leading members of both Houses, it was suffered to remain un repealed, more, probably, on the ground of policy or of expediency than of strict con stitutionality. During the last session of the Thirty-ninth Congress, a bill to regulate the tenure of certain civil offices was introduced, and finally, on the above-mentioned date, was passed over the veto of the President. This bill was the occasion of a lengthy dis cussion, in which the power of removal was again fully examined. The first section of that statute reads as follows : Every person holding any civil office to which he has been appointed by and with the advice and con sent of the Senate, and every person who shall here after be appointed to any such office, and shall be come duty qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled -to hold such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed and duly quali fied, except as herein otherwise provided; Provided, that the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy, and of the Interior, the PostmasterGeneral, and the Attorney-General, shall hold their offices for and during the term' of the President, by
whom they may have been appointed, and for one month thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. It will be perceived that this act imposed a material restriction upon the exercise of what, before that time, had been regarded as the exclusive prerogative of the Execu tive. This measure was considered by many constitutional lawyers both in and out of Congress to have been an unauthorized in terference with the President's powers, and a direct violation of the Constitution. On the other hand, it was contended that this change was not only demanded by the pub lic welfare, but was also justified by a proper construction of the fundamental law of the nation. On April 5, 1869, the above-men tioned section was. amended by the substitu tion of the following one, which was after wards incorporated into the Revised Statutes of the United States as section 1767, which reads as follows : Sec. 1767. Every person holding any civil office to which he has been or hereafter may be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall have become duly qualified to act therein, shall be entitled to hold such office during the term for which he was appointed, unless sooner removed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, or by the appointment, with the like advice and consent, of a successor in his place, except as herein otherwise provided. The statute as thus amended remained in full force and operation until it was repealed by the act of Congress, approved by the President on March 3, 1887. Let us next inquire what are the constitu tional provisions in reference to removals from office. The only clause in the Con stitution which bears directly upon that subject is Section 4 of Article II, which reads as follows : The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. It appears, then, that the only mdde ex pressly provided for the removal of an officer
